I love Lucy, if by Lucy you mean Morphine.

All is quiet at Palazzo Chichi today. Summer is creeping up and that means unbearable heat and humidity, and that means sweating. In fact it is most unlady like to sweat like a pig everytime one step's outside the front door. The sub-tropics, it's great during winter, but I really don't like it much in the summer. It turns everyone in to a bogan. Shorts and T-shirts and thongs are the uniform here. No matter how posh a restaurant or hotel, people walk around looking like they are holidaying at a caravan park in Ocean Grove. :(

I am very saddened by the news from Italy, that an earthquake has hit and killed over 200 people. Being half Italian, it is a country very close to me. I have been there a few times and I think it's the most amazing country, full of history and culture and great beauty. I'm making a donation to the Red Cross in Italy. I stick to the Red Cross for such donations because whenever a natural disaster like the Italian earthquake occurs, scammers pop up to get online donations from unsuspecting people. The Italian Red Cross seems like the best bet, http://www.cri.it/

My aunt and cousins live at Lake Como, after Melbourne, Australia, Como is my favourite place on earth. There is something almost ethereal about it. At night the moutains are shrouded in darkness except for three things.

1) A cross sits high at the top, made of electric lights, it gives off an almost supernatural floating appearance.
2) An old ruined tower of the Castel Baradello remains standing at the top of one of the hills and at night a spotlight shines on it, to reveal it's ancient glory. It was built in 1192 by a guy called Barbarossa. Very exotic!
3) The lines of the funicular railway that travels up to the town of Brunate are also brightly illuminated.
These combine to make for a spectacular scene

Castel Baradello at night ..>

The last time we were in Como we met the towns most beloved resident, Bobo. One morning while having a breakfast latte at a coffee shop, a woman came by with the biggest labrador I have ever seen. She must keep that dog on steroids. She stopped to talk to a friend at the table next to us, and let down the dog's leash. Bobo took off, nimbly, for a big guy too.

The poor old lady was running along behind him yelling...'Bobo, Bobo...' We could hear her for a good 5 mintues. She came back 20 minutes later, puffing and red in the face with a recalcitrant Bobo who looked rather pleased with himself and his surprising adventure. After that, we ran into the lady and Bobo wherever we went. She told us that 'everyone in Como knows Bobo'. George Clooney has a house there on the Lake, but it would seem that Bobo is even more popular than him.

Italy I miss you!!!

Chichi in the good old USA

It's been over a year since I left the sunburnt country and moved to Tampa, Florida. It's a nice place but hot like you would not believe. The humidity is something else. One can't leave the house without sweating like a bastard. I hear it's great for the skin and keeps one looking young, if you don't mind being covered in moisture all day long. It's disgusting.

I just got back from a trip to Charleston, South Carolina. Now that place is civilised! It was lovely and cool and just beautiful. I went to a fancy restaurant for dinner and indulged in truffle risotto and other such fancy fare. Too bad I couldn't keep the tasty morsel's down and regurgitated the lot all over myself. Charming indeed. Porcini mushrooms may seem like a good idea going down but the other way round, well it's not pretty that's all I will say.